I Had a Daughter

I had a daughter. She's a cute little monster. If you happened to meet her on the road of life, she would make you fall in love with her own charming «Cheshire smile». She made me love her smile. Upon our first acquaintance. It would be completely dark without the flame torch that night. Despite the fact, I was able to see a something crawling out of the forest thicket towards me, flashing sharp teeth. The «creature» turned out to be my sweet daughter.

My daughter has a unique appearance. If you saw her, you would immediately understand that this is the toddler of an ever-wandering wizard. She is tall enough to reach my waist bag, but wasn't tall to backpack, therefore, she traveled inside him. We went to all the Empire cities together like thick as thieves. While I was showing magic performances for the people, my little daughter was quietly playing with alchemical flasks-vials.

My daughter was growing by leaps and bounds. Her teeth also grew and grew. Swollen gums gave cutting teeth to sharp needles that resembled animal fangs rather than human teeth. She wanted to be no different from the other kids she wanted to play with. Like the others, she gnawed on everything: books, magic props, my fingers… One day my daughter accidentally managed to open one of the flasks in the work bag. The «experiment» was failed. This flask contained a flammable liquid for fire performances. The flame burned soft skin. Her left leg lost its long hair. Long hair on the legs? Yes, my daughter's body was covered with animal-hair. As I said, we're very similar, but I'm human.

I was forced define frame for the small crimes. More precisely, I built great wall out of prohibitions, like an inner-city wall that should separate the poor and rich citizens. Walls and rules are the same for everyone: they protect from enemies, they interfere with freedom. My daughter wanted to explore the horizons of this world… like her father, who met the new dawn in a new place every day. But I had to do everything to make the sun appear in the sky over and over. Getting a fireball out of a shirt sleeve is a hard and long work! I didn't have time to show the world for little monster with bestiary.And even more so present her to the whole world.

Soldiers should appear from behind the wall, sooner or later. Always. I knew they would come with long swords to take my daughter away. The king's servants burned red-haired people, enslaved black people, tortured incorruptible people… what would they do with a creature that is unlike the?

The future appeared not in a crystal ball, but in a father's heart. Sad predictions have come true. Unfortunately, it wasn't just the wind that was chasing us. On the way to the capital, we were tracked down by a royal patrol. The soldiers thought that a traveler talking to his bag was strange. They quickly tore off the bag. One of them cut the cloth with a blade. There was a little monster hiding inside the bag, he was trembling with fear.The royal soldiers stood motionless because they didn't know what to do with another living being.I took advantage of the moment and ran into the thicket. I saw my daughter's tears, but from a safe distance.

I couldn't run any further. Fear shackled my body. Primordial emotions suffocate as instruments of torture.It hurt me, but it hurt my daughter even more – bastard grabbed her and wanted to knock out. My daughter was able to avoid being hit by the sword hilt.Once rolling, she was near his hand to sink her sharp teeth into.Fountains of blood from the severed arteries spurted up. The soldiers, all but one, stood still again.My daughter did not wait and ran away to the forest, to me. We ran all day, together. Hearts was beating madly. There was no time to gather thoughts. Forrest was shifting right before our eyes.Only the silhouettes of large trees hinted that we were still in the forest.Sun disappeared. And it was only under cover of night that we decided to rest.

My daughter believed in magic. She watched with great interest the magic tricks that I showed to the inattentive citizens. When we stayed in a private, she asked me to teach at least the easiest spell. Like throw magic dust in the eyes. My magic wand was created from an Oak tree. It rises rapidly from the ground upwards – crowd froze in place at the spectacle. The fairy tale that I showed people for a sometime was more real than reality itself. Now that I had escaped from the royal soldiers, she only looked at me with disappointment and tears in her eyes.My little girl just simply didn't believe that a great magician like me couldn't easily defeat the enemies last morning. A big fireball,hurricane, terrible downpour from the clouds, earthquake – she so quickly-quickly suggested dozens of ways that could defeat the soldiers. She believed in me. «Believed» because she knew my powers was unreal.

Am I a good father? There's a theory that good parents have cute nicknames of endearment for their kids. I remember all my cute terms. In that case, I'm a good father. It's a pity, I just talked a lot about fatherhood, but I didn't do anything. Only cowardice and egoism. I think it's much more beneficial to be responsible all your life, than to take responsibility one day.

You don't need to have magical abilities to foretell the future: misfortune was contagious. One day, my daughter and I went to the capital for a grand performance. Walking of villages and looking casual wage labour — it is not possible on a permanent basis. The gates of the capital are always open for buffoons and jesters.All districts of the city wanted to bread and circuses.Small children came with their tired parents. The guards withdrew from their positions. Heralds and clergy shut their holy mouths, they were watching real magic. I thought, what already happens in forest, stays in forest. My opening concert piece was accepted by the audience with enthusiasm. So I keep going.I was juggling fire burning balls and then I put them out on my hands.

And everything collapsed in one time. I started tossing head rings up, and catch it. Citizens began to whisper on each other. And what is this all about?A herald came forward – the voice of the people and the voice of God. «He wears a halo on his head, a blasphemer,» he cried. «It's a crown, not a halo. He's a mutineer,» the other said. «He's a warlock,» the clergyman was shouting. General discontent among was growing. «His Royal Highness is a talented horse cart driver. The last thing we want to do is rock the cart like the wandering artists!» said the epilogue from the head of the royal guard.He was a strict person,whose word was law, and they wanted to arrest me. Then all the sounds stopped. Then only the clank of swords. The guards rushed at me. Yelling womans, crying children. «Only one King knows where this cart is going, only one King, » this phrase from the herald has become the leitmotif of the whole performance. I tried not to even let my face show where my daughter was. I only could to see her little back disappear a tangle of people legs. She took the chance and ran away.

For a few moments I looked at the faces in front of me. Ugly people had wicked animal faces, where have I seen them before? Did I once consider them brothers in arms when I was sitting near a campfire? There was a great shout of laughter, and I remembered about bloody murders. The King once sent hundreds of men to war against a neighboring kingdom. These tragic days were imprinted on scars on faces and holes in the walls. The war is behind us, but people have not stopped fighting for the crown. They had nostalgia for the war beneath their helmets. He who winner dragon becomes a dragon himself, he who winner king becomes a king himself… I've always wanted to be myself. Since then the choice has been made. I slowly killed myself when I took horrors of life for granted, and laid down my arms. This is not my war. My daughter truly loved her father.

The wooden cart was making a horrible loud noise. The cart was shaking-falling apart, it still to the execution site. I thought the thin spokes of the wheels would break under my modest weight. Wild people jumped up to me and shook their fists,which made the cart more dangerous. The Guards did not forbid attacking the prisoner at all. On the contrary, they liked this prolonged game. They didn't end up under the wheels of a cart today. Soldiers smiled at me through the prison bars,I smiled back at them. We all looked through the bars, but only from opposite sides.

The show has not formally ended. Now, on the contrary, there were only more viewers by noon. I no longer waved and smiled with my toothless mouth. I no longer waved my arms and smiled with my toothless mouth.The show in the capital had a different ending. Watching what was happening was as interesting like a performing on stage. I tried not to take eyes, but sometimes I looked around. What if my daughter's shaggy back appears in the forest? At the finale,as expected, peopletook to the stage. They hooted and threw stones, which led to the final morality. I wanted to go out and speak to the newly made actors: «Thank you all for all trying on the executioners' costumes.That was expected. Now you can crucify me!» It's a pity that we can't interrupt the show, even if we know the ending.

Monsters don't have to very sharp fangs, long hooked claws, slender narrow eyes of a toxic color, long animal hair or a fish scale… The single element that unites all monsters is hatred inside of their bodies. Hatred mixes with blood, it pulsates from the heart to the head, from the head to the feet, and back. Monsters hate everyone and everything because of their nature. And therefore they create evil on Earth.

I didn't resent my daughter for not saving me from the king's torture. Nothing I can't run off. I untied the rope with the «power of thought». When I was hiding in the forest, for a long time I heard that it wasn't the soldiers who were chasing me, but my daughter.At the same time, I didn't want to see her again.Absolutely.I taught her to run away from problems — I was a good father, but I have bad life lesson. My daughter only followed the advice.